Partners In Crime
by NickyM96
Summary: JASAM 2005. Someone from Jason's past needs his help. Will Sam's refusal to leave his side put her in danger?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Partners In Crime  
Author: Nicky  
Rating: Mostly PG-13, might be some elements of R later  
Summary: Someone from Jason's past needs his help. Will Sam's refusal to leave his side put her in danger? This story is set late 2005 or so.

Author Notes: Written November 2005

Disclaimer: Standard one applies. These characters don't belong to me, blah blah blah.

* * *

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 1

* * *

Searching quickly for an answer, the raven haired beauty tucks an errant strand of her locks behind her ear to stall for time. She didn't prepare for this scenario, getting caught that is. It was supposed to be easy. Flirt her way inside and create a diversion, allowing her partner in crime to do what needs to be done. Getting inside had been the easy part, her stunning looks an advantage. But sometimes she wonders if she's too stunning. Too unforgetable. Because once she got inside, she couldn't manage to blend in.

"I'll ask again, Miss. What are you doing back in these halls? Mr. Walsh's private offices are back here. No one is allowed back here," the guard says, his tone threatening and his hand tightening it's grip on her arm.

"I got lost looking for the ladies room," she lies, seeing immediately that he doesn't believe her.

"Right," he says sarcastically, his attention turning away for a moment when a second guard brings him a piece of paper. His face gets redder and angrier as he reads it and she somehow know she's been caught. It's time to retreat.

"Obviously, I made a wrong turn some where along the way," she says, trying to pull away from the man's strong grasp. "Why don't I just go now. No harm done, right?"

The man doesn't say another word. Instead he just drags her off to a room further down the hall, tossing her inside and locking the door.

"You can't do this," she screams, banging on the door. "Let me out of here. If you don't, you'll be sorry."

"I don't think threats will work."

She turns around at the familiar voice and is both relieved, yet disappointed to see her best friend. She was hoping the younger woman had gotten away.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing," she sighs before turning back to bang on the door.

"Hey, you big lug. You can't just lock us in here. Do you have any idea who I am?"

She jumps back when the door slams open to prevent it from hitting her and huddles in the corner near her friend. An impeccably dressed man with graying hair enters, a small smirk dancing on his lips.

"We know exactly who you are. Most importantly, we know exactly who your husband is . . . Mrs. Morgan. I think he'll be interested in making a deal for your safe return. The both of you," the man says, giving both women an appreciative look. "I must say, he certainly has good taste in lovers. I'm sure you two are worth a lot to him."

The man, whom she knows from her research to be Mr. Walsh, turns to leave after giving them one last look. The creepy gleam in his eyes give them both the chills and makes them cling closer to each other.

"How did he know about you being married to Jason, Brenda? Or about me being involved with him?"

Brenda Barrett looks at her friend and grabs her hand, squeezing it for her own comfort as much as anything else.

"Maybe they got our fingerprints or something and used the computer to find out who we were," Brenda shrugs. "Who knows how these guys find their information out. But I'm afraid this has suddenly gotten bigger than either of us can handle, Robin."

Robin Scorpio nods in agreement. She should have known something was wrong with the way Mr. Walsh was so eager to invest in her medical research. It wasn't until she heard the rumors of what he intended on doing with it did she realize his nefarious plans. So she convinced Brenda to help her take it back. And now thanks to her, they're both being held hostage and will probably be used to force Jason and Sonny into some illegal deal they previously turned down.

"I really hate that Jason's involved now. I haven't seen him in over a year and this happens. What if he doesn't even care, Brenda? What if he cares more about his business than he does us?"

"That won't happen," Brenda assures her. "Didn't you tell me that he had divorced his wife? Probably because he couldn't get over you, my dear."

"I doubt that," Robin laughs.

"How would you know? It was his grandmother's funeral. Not exactly the time for him to try to hook up with you again. But I'm sure the next time he sees you, it'll be as if you two were never apart."

"He _did_ seem pretty happy to see me," Robin notes. "Perhaps there's hope for us after all. If he comes to resuce me, that means he really cares, right?"

"That's right, Girl. Don't give up on him. You better go for it once he rescues us. Because if you don't, I will. Jason was the best husband I ever had," Brenda giggles.

"Hey, now! Jason's mine. And don't you forget it."

The two women laugh for a few moments before the reality of their situation hits them. Neither of them want to think of the possibility of Jason not coming for them. Neither of them want to think of just how dangerous a man this Mr. Walsh is if he has dealings with Jason and Sonny. They just sit and pray that Jason comes quickly.

Robin can already picture the reunion in her mind. This time, she's determined to not let Jason go. No matter what the obstacle, she's convinced they'll be able to overcome it.

But then again, she never counted on an obstacle named Sam McCall.

Sam lays back, a self satisfied look on her face as Jason tries desperately to catch his breath.

"Wow," he gasps, laughing at loud at the way his heart is pounding in his chest. "That was . . ."

"I know," she grins, wagging her eyebrows at him, understanding why he's at a loss for words.

"No, seriously, Sam. I think what we just did might very well be illegal in six states."

She simply shrugs, leaning over to kiss him and is very surprised when he starts responding again to her.

"You can't get enough, can you," she purrs into his ears, the warmth of her breath making him shiver.

"Never," he groans. He lets out a low growl and flips her over on the bed until he's on top of her. "You've had your fun. Now it's my turn."

She tilts her head back to give him more room as he places gentle bites along the column of her neck and then soothes them with his moist tongue.

"Don't stop there," she begs as his hands began to wander, stopping in a place that causes her breath to hitch. His eager fingers begin to make her squirm just as the phone starts to ring, bringing a few inventive curses from them both.

"Just ignore it," he says. She gratefully agrees as he continues what he was doing before. But before they can get things started again, a pounding at the door stops them again.

"Must be Sonny or Carly," she sighs in disappointment, pushing him off of her. She gets out the bed and grabs his t-shirt from the floor to put on. She can't hide her smile at the rips near the collar, caused by their zeal to get it off of him.

Jason pulls on his pants and runs down the stairs, the anger and frustration evident on his face. When he pulls the door open, Sonny actually takes a step back when he sees what kind of mood he's in.

"Am I interrupting?" Sonny asks, his eyes travelling to Sam as she descends the stairs. When he takes in their appearance, it becomes all too apparent that he did indeed interrupt . . . and just what it is he interrupted. It's no wonder to him why Jason is so pissed. "Sorry, but this can't wait. It's business."

They both look over at Sam and she just nods, understanding completely their need for privacy. She walks over to Jason, wraps her arms around him and kisses him deeply and thoroughly for a long moment. Sonny turns his head away, his cheeks stained in a flush.

"Don't keep me waiting too long," she whispers, giving him one last peck on the cheek before sauntering upstairs. Her hips sway from side to side more than usual and both men find it impossible to keep their eyes off of her until she disappears from view.

"I really am sorry," Sonny sighs, finally focusing his attention back on Jason. "I don't think either of you are going to be happy with the job I've got for you."

"Could it possibly wait like, I don't know," Jason says looking desperately towards the stairs. "Like another hour?"

"I feel your pain, Buddy. Believe me," Sonny laughs. "But no. This is pretty serious. If it were only about business, I'd handle it myself. But innocent lives are at stake, Jason. And I can't risk them getting hurt."

"What's going on?" Jason asks, instantly concerned.

"Langford Walsh. Remember him?"

"He's the one who tried to get us to agree to that deal moving his high grade lab created drugs, right?"

"Yeah," Sonny nods. "He has some sort of connection to the medical field where he could get the stuff, but was having a hard time selling it in this area. You ran him out of town about three years ago."

"So what does he want now?"

"He thinks we'll reconsider. And in exchange, he'll set his so called 'houseguests' free."

"He's got hostages? Who? And why would we care?" His mind quickly tries to come up with who Walsh could be holding, but he can only breath a sigh of relief that it isn't Sam. He can't think of who else he'd risk business for.

"It's Brenda. And Robin."

"Why those two?" he wonders aloud. "It would make sense for him to grab Carly or Sam. Maybe even Reese. But Brenda and Robin? I'm not saying their safety isn't important, but it doesn't make sense for Walsh to take them."

"I know it doesn't, Jason. But we can't risk anything happening to them. We made promises not to let our lifestyle hurt them. And it looks like it has. I need you to go and get them. No deals with Walsh. He's lucky he even lived the last time he encountered us. If he gives you any trouble, don't extend the same mercy."

Jason just nods and leads the man to the door after Sonny promises to have the details of the assignment messengered over. He looks up towards the bedroom and lets out a disappointed sigh. Sam's definitely not going to like this. Not at all.

To be continued . . .


	2. Chapter 2

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 2

* * *

Sam looks over at the pouting man and rolls her eyes at him. He's acting like such a baby.

"I don't know why you're so mad, Jason," she fusses at him. "You know good and well I'm the best person to help with this. Obviously Sonny agreed."

"Sam, this has nothing to do with you," Jason says, his hands grabbing on the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. "This is business. It's dangerous."

"Oh, it's dangerous, no doubt, Jason. But this is about as personal as it gets. You're running off to rescue your ex-wife and ex-live in girlfriend. I don't know how you expected me to just sit back and let that happen."

"Sam, there never was anything between me and Brenda. It was a marriage in name only. And whatever I had with Robin was over a long time ago."

"Because she betrayed you. And because you ended things with her. That doesn't mean she doesn't still want you, Jason. I know I wouldn't give up so easily on you. Courtney didn't either. You're a hard man to get over, Jason Morgan."

Jason's anger fades a little at her words and he lets go of the steering wheel with one hand. He reaches across the seat and grabs hers as it rests on her thigh.

"Sam, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. And I've known it for a while. Even the last time I saw Robin."

"At your grandmother's funeral?" Sam asks, shocked at the implication. "All the way back then?"

"I think especially then," he admits. "I poured my heart out to you about my grandmother and you suggested we name the baby after her. That meant a lot to me, Sam. And for some reason, I felt as if that was the day you finally started to fully trust me. And I knew I could trust you too. I've never had that with anyone before."

"You're right," she says after some silence. "That was the day I decided to introduce you to Danny. But before I got the chance, Emily showed up with the terrible news about your grandmother."

They ride in a comfortable silence for the next ten miles, Sam's focus on the scenery as it rushes past. She enjoys the feel of his hand wrapped around hers and would do anything to hold onto it forever. But she knows she can't. She knows she has his heart. She'll have to trust that.

"I know you love me, Jason. But part of me is still waiting on the other shoe to drop. I'm still bracing myself for the day you realize you're way too good for me."

"Is that what you think?" he asks, his brow scrunching in confusion. "You really think you're not good enough for me? Sam, it's the other way around. I thank God everyday for bringing you into my life. I'm so grateful that you decided to stick around, no matter how much I tried to drive you away. My life is so much better with you in it."

"We're better together than we are apart, Jason," she agrees. "That's another reason why I wanted to come along. I know you don't want me involved in your business. But I think we work well together. And if you're going to be risking your life for some old friends, I'd rather be there to watch your back. Even if Robin's eyes are there first."

Jason just laughs, noticing the teasing glint in Sam's eyes.

"Hey, can you blame the girl? I've been told that my back, is one of my best features. My _backside_ that is," he adds with a wink.

"I'll say," Sam blushes, remembering exactly what was happening to her the last time she had a handful of the lush backside of his. She pushes the memory from her mind, determined to remain professional on her first outing with him. "But seriously, Jason. I think us working together on this will be fine. I don't trust your life to anyone else."

"I'm still not happy about you being in danger, Sam."

"I can take care of myself," she objects, but he stops her.

"I know you can. I still don't like it. But I trust you, Sam. And I really do feel better going in there with you at my side."

Unexpected tears spring in her eyes as she absorbs the full meaning behind his words. She's known Jason for awhile now. And trust is not something he gives away easily. For him to offer it to her so freely in all aspects of his life, especially his work, means more to her than anyone could ever know.

And she trusts him, too. More than she ever trusted anyone. So now, all she has to do is remember that and trust in his love for her. Maybe then she won't be so nervous about iRobin/i. What did Carly call her? An angel so close to perfect she blinded you with her halo. Sam knows she isn't an angel. From from it, in fact. Which could be a good thing if Robin decides she wants Jason back.

_'Little Miss Perfect won't even know what hit her,'_ Sam thinks to herself, preparing herself mentally for the battle she knows she's about to face. Jason may be naive, but Sam isn't. Jason is not the kind of man you give up without a fight. And if Robin comes here expecting a fight, then a fight is what she's going to get.

"So, tell me about her."

Jason had been expecting the question, but hearing it out loud still surprised him.

"About who?" he says, deciding to play dumb. Because he actually has no idea what to say.

"The Queen of England," Sam says sarcastically. "Who do you think I'm talking about? Robin. Your ex. The woman you loved. The woman you lived with. The woman you're risking your life to save."

He lets out a sigh, realizing he has to tell her something. They've been sitting in the dark for almost an hour now, waiting for Langford Walsh to leave his estate so that they can sneak in and rescue Robin and Brenda. He's shocked she waited as long as she did.

"We grew up together," he starts. "But of course I didn't remember her after my accident. For some reason, though, she was one of the few people who could get through to me. We became friends."

"Just friends?" Sam asks curiously.

"Yeah. At the time. She had just lost her first love. A guy named Stone."

"Stone? Like Morgan's middle name?"

"Sonny had taken Stone in when he was a kid, kind of like how he took me in. Sonny and Robin were both devastated when Stone died. Sonny loved him like a son. So I guess it's only fitting Sonny honor him by giving Morgan his name. Anyway, Robin and I eventually got together. Then we broke up. End of story."

She gives him and incredulous look and he knows she's not buying it. Nevertheless, she lets it go, turning her head away with a sigh. But he can tell the need to know is burning her up inside. So he takes pity on her.

"She betrayed me."

That gets her attention, but she doesn't say anything, silently urging him to continue.

"She's the one who told AJ that Michael was his son and not mine. The strange thing is that I could understand why she did it, but at the time, I couldn't bring myself to forgive her. Or ever trust her again."

"How about now?"

"I still understand why she did what she did. I guess I've forgiven her because I'm not angry anymore about it. What's done is done. We can't change the past. But as for trusting her . . . I don't know, Sam. I don't know what you want me to say. I know she's a good person, but . . . "

"But, what?" Sam persists.

"She's not you, Sam. So it doesn't really matter," he finally spits out. "I know you're worried about her, but you shouldn't be. I love you so much that I almost feel foolish about using that same word to describe how I've felt about women in the past. Because what I feel for you just doesn't compare. You're the other half of my heart, Sam. You make me a whole person."

"Jason," she gasps, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I love you, too. More than my own life. I'd do anything for you and anything to keep you."

She leans across the seat and kisses him tenderly, pulling back after a few moments to keep them from getting out of hand. They still have a job to do and they have to keep their minds on it.

Jason glances at the clock, just to give his mind something else to focus on, something other than the tempting woman sitting merely a few feet away from him. He knew it was a bad idea bringing her along. Not because he doubts her skills. But he's starting to doubt whether or not he can keep his hands off of her.

Fortunately his torment is over. The front doors open and Langford Walsh steps through them. A limo pulls up to him and Jason nervously watches as Max plays chauffer to Walsh. Having Max take the place of regular driver turned out to be the simplest, yet one of the most important parts of the plan. Once Max has Walsh out of the way and neutralized, getting inside should be no problem. The guards Walsh hired were mainly thugs following his orders. If Walsh isn't around to give the orders, they should be easy to take down.

After Max drives away, Jason looks over at Sam.

"Showtime. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Jason, I'll be fine," she assures him.

She steps out of the car, giving her disguise one last adjustment. Her main job is to create a diversion as well as getting a transmitter inside the house. The transmitter will allow Stan to remotely access and override the security system, allowing Jason to sneak inside undetected.

"How do I look?" she asks him, her voice starting to shake a little.

"Very convincing," he whispers, his own voice failing him.

He watches her blink rapidly, trying to hide her tears from him, but he knows this is hard for her. It's hard for him to see her like this, too. But they decided it was the best way for her to get inside. As she disappears into the darkness, he realizes the only thing he can do now is wait and pray that this will turn out how they hope it will.

She slips out into the night, easily being camoflauged by the darkness. She gets to the front door and checks again to make sure her disguise is intact. Not only does it hide her identity, but it also cloaks the transmitter Stan needs to get inside as well as her lock picking and safe cracking tools. A girl never knows what she'll need when she's breaking and entering.

"Here goes nothing," she whispers to herself, trying to get into the right frame of mind for this con she's about to pull off. She can only hope these guys are dumb enough to buy it.

She bangs on the front door, clutching at her stomach when it opens.

"Help me," she pants, screwing her face into a painful grimace. "Please help me."

When the man opens the door wider, she fakes unsteadiness and falls into his arms, leaving him no choice but to catch her.

"Miss, I don't know . . ." the man starts to say, but is interrupted from another guard coming up behind him.

"You don't know what?" the other guard asks. When he gets a good look at Sam, his eyes widen in panic. "Get her inside, you idiot. Can't you see she's about to give birth at any minute!"

Sam has to hide her victorious grin. They bought her act. She just hopes she can hold them off long enough for Jason to get inside too.

Robin yawns and stretches, growing tired and restless at the same time. They have been locked in that room for longer than she likes and she's starting to wonder if Jason's really coming for them.

"He'll be here," Brenda says, looking up from her nail filing. They attempted to pry open the doors with the nail file, but realized it wouldn't work because neither of them knew anything about picking locks. They were stuck in there until some rescued them.

"I hate feeling so helpless, Brenda. And I hate that I can be used as leverage against Jason. We haven't been a couple for years now. Why did Langford Walsh decide to use me to get to him?"

"Maybe because there's no one else Jason has ever cared for as much as he loved you, Robin," Brenda tries to convince her. "Walsh didn't kidnap Courtney, did he? No. He kidnapped you. Because it's obvious Jason still has a thing for you."

"I hope you're right," Robin smiles, feeling hopeful at her friend's words. "I really do still love him. I've missed him so much while I've been in Paris. Why do you think I came to interview for Mr. Walsh? He owns this big, drug company here in New York. I was ready to come home."

"It'll work out," Brenda promises. "It may take a little work on our part to convince Jason you two still belong together. But I'm sure he'll take one look at you and realize what he's been missing. You two were made for each other."

"I think so too," Robin agrees with a nod. "And you're right. I need to be ready to do whatever I have to in order to win him back. Because he's definitely worth it."

Robin lays back on the bed they've been provided and closes her eyes, thinking of happier times with Jason. As she drifts off to sleep, her thoughts turn into dreams of the future and the beautiful life she knows she and Jason will have. Once he gets her out of here, she's determined to stick by his side until she can make those dreams come true.

To be continued . . .


	3. Chapter 3

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 3

* * *

Jason watches from the window outside the room the guards took Sam into. He can't help but grin in pride at the performance she's putting on for them. He's never really seen her "work" before, so this is a treat for him. He finds it very arousing watching her in con artist mode. He can't wait until this job is done and he can get her back home.

"Okay, we're in," he hears Stan say through the earpiece he's wearing. Stan is the true brains behind this operation. Jason realizes that Sam and he are at the man's mercy. He's their eyes and ears and they're depending on him to keep them out of harm's way.

"Where am I going?" Jason asks him, sneaking stealthily into the front door. Even though he didn't expect it to, he's still impressed when the alarm doesn't go blaring. Stan really does know his stuff.

"Dude, it's a big house. Your chickadees could be anywhere. Give me a minute."

"Don't call them that," Jason groan quietly, to keep the guards from hearing him. "Brenda and I were never really anything and Robin and I were over a long time ago."

"Whatever," Stan laughs, and Jason can hear him typing in the background.

He tips quietly to the entrance of the room where Sam is and stands where he's sure he won't be seen.

"Ahh!" Sam screams, sending his mind briefly back to that day in the hospital chapel last November when she was going through this for real. He has to mentally shake himself to keep from getting distracted. "My baby. My baby is coming. You've got to help me."

"I don't know what to do, Lady," the first guard panics. "Should I boil some water or something?"

"Don't look at me," the other guard says. "What do I look like, a doctor or something?"

_'You probably can't even spell doctor,'_ Jason thinks to himself, forcing himself to hide a snicker at that thought.

"Look . . . and see . . . if the baby's head is out," she pants exaggeratedly. "There's probably going to be a lot of blood, so just . . . "

"No!" they both scream simultaneously, knowing what she's suggesting they do and neither of them having the stomach to do it. One of them actually turns a little green.

"Then I need a doctor. Call 911 or something," she pleads, adding tears to her act for effect.

"Tony, go get the girl. She's a doctor," the second guard suggests.

"No way. Mr. Walsh said that girl stays in the room."

"This is an emergency, Moron. But if you're too afraid, then I'll go get her."

The second guard leaves the room, not noticing when Jason follows him. He won't need Stan's directions after all. The guard is about to lead him right to where he needs to be.

The guard walks down a few hallways before opening a door with a security code and walking inside.

"Did you . . ."

"Yeah, I got it," Stan says before he can even finish the question. "The code is 4967 to get in as well as out. I can change it from here, though. That way, once the guard goes in, he won't be able to get out. That might buy you all some time if you need it."

"Good idea," Jason nods, even though Stan can't see him.

He gets his gun from the back of his jeans and hides behind one of the walls. Barely a minute later he sees the guard dragging Robin down the hall with a tight grip on her arm.

"Where are you taking me," she demands to know, struggling against him the whole way.

"We need your expertise," is all he says, reaching into his pocket for a gun. "I don't want to hurt you. But if you make one wrong move, then I will. Then, I'll kill your friend, you got that?"

That shuts her up and makes her go along willingly with him. Jason can see the fear in her eyes and feels bad that he's partly responsible for putting it there. If it weren't for her being involved with him, even in the past, this wouldn't be happening to her.

When they walk past him, Jason sneaks out from his hiding place and raises the arm carrying the gun. He quickly brings it down over the guards head, causing Robin to scream out in surprise. The guard lands at her feet in a motionless heap and she looks up at Jason, eyes wide with terror. She calms down when she recognizes it's him.

"Jason," she sobs, falling into his arms for comfort.

"Hey, we can't do this right now," he whispers to her, not wanting to alert any other guards that may be around. "Head back to the room. We have to get Brenda."

Robin nods and turns back towards the room. Jason takes away the guard's gun and searches him for handcuffs. He finds the cuffs and binds the man's hands together before dragging him back to the room.

"I don't have the code to get inside," she says shakily, wiping away the tears still streaming down her face.

"Try 2233," Jason tells her, repeating what Stan just told him in his ear.

The door opens easily and Brenda runs out, embracing her friend.

"Thank God, you're okay," Brenda says. "How did you get away?"

Robin motions towards Jason, who's still dragging the heavy guard into the room. He leaves the man lying on the floor and closes the door behind him, locking him inside. Even if the man wakes up and manages to get out of the cuffs, he still won't be able to open the newly changed security code.

"He's going to be in there for awhile. But let's get out of here anyway," Jason tells them, reminding them to stay quiet and to stay behind him.

They move quickly and quietly back to the front of the house. Jason feels Robin slip her hand in his, but ignores it for the time being. The only thing he's concerned with is getting them all out of there safely.

"Uh oh," Stan says.

"I don't like the sound of that. What's going on?" Jason asks.

"You've got company. I just now got access to video and you've got a guard coming straight for you. From the looks of it, he knows you're there."

"How many?"

"Just the one coming towards you."

_'That's not so bad. I can take him out, no problem,'_ Jason thinks to himself.

"And the two coming up behind you," Stan adds.

"This could get ugly," he sighs in frustration. He looks around at where they are, checking out the alternatives. The three guards he can handle. He's just not sure how to keep Robin and Brenda safe and ignorant of what he's about to do. He spots a storage room or something and peeks in through the window to see that it's empty.

"I'm at a door, Stan. Can you open it?"

"Yeah, hit some numbers on the keypad so that I can pick up where you are."

Jason complies and seconds later, the green access light comes on and the door opens. Jason shoves the girls inside just as the first guard comes around the corner. He takes out his second gun and prepares for the worst.

"Oh," Sam continues to moan dramatically, trying not to laugh at how uncomfortable she's making the guard. But it's obvious to her that he'd rather be anywhere than with a woman about to have a baby. She might can use that to her advantage.

"This kid's head feels like a watermelon," she screams, watching a line of sweat break out on the guard's forehead. He starts to look a little queasy, so she pushes him further.

"I should have known labor was coming when I passed my mucus plug," she cries, adding another scream for good measure.

That seems to work like a charm. She silently congratulates himself when the man runs to the wastebasket in the corner and loses the entire contents of his stomach.

Slowly she sneaks up behind him and grabs a heavy book of the desk. She slams it over his head as hard as she can to knock him out. She tosses the book down next to him and searches him for weapons. She finds a radio instead and is instantly worried at what she hears when she turns it up.

"We have a disturbance in the south hall where the girls are being held," one tinny voice says. "We're closing in on him now."

"I found a car near the front entrance," another voice says. "It's probably how he got here. We're locking it down now so he won't be able to leave."

"That's not good," she mutters to herself, their mode of escape now gone. Plus, Jason's about to get caught unless she does something to help him. She reaches into the panel of her fake stomach and pulls out her own tiny gun that Jason ordered especially for her. It may not do a lot of damage, but it'll hold the guards off long enough to help Jason and the others escape.

She makes it to the south hall just as three guards surround Jason.

"Put down your weapons," they order. "We have you out numbered. There's no way of escape."

She quietly steps behind one of the guards, her small stature hiding her presence from the others. By the time they realize she's there, she has a gun pressed into the back of the guy's head.

"You might want to rethink that," she says, making sure they can hear her cock her gun. "You put down _your_ weapons and no one will get hurt."

Jason points his guns at the other two guards, the look on his face making it perfectly clear he'd shoot them for even looking funny at him. Slowly, the men lower their weapons and keep their hands in the air where Jason can see them.

"Up against the wall," Jason orders. "Hands behind your backs."

Normally, he'd just shoot the men. But with the three women watching, he feels the need for a more peaceful solution to his problem. He has Sam search them and retrieve their cuffs and within minutes, the guards are all restrained.

"We have to get out of here," Sam reminds him.

He just nods and opens the door behind him, shoving the guards inside and freeing two very beautiful brunettes. Sam feels her breath hitch when she comes face to face with the one she just knows is Robin. She just exudes an inherent sweetness that leaves no question about her identity.

"What's going on?" Robin asks, the confusion evident on her face. She stares at Sam's stomach and reaches out to take her arm. "Miss, do you need some help or something?"

"There's no time to explain," Jason says, herding them all in the direction they came from. "We need to go."

"Not the way we came, though. The guards found the car," Sam explains.

Jason mutters a slightly muffled curse and contacts Stan for an alternate way out. He listens for a few minutes before finally nodding in agreement at what the man is saying.

"According to Stan, this house is sitting on a lake. If we can get out the back side of the house, there's are motor boats we can use to get us across the lake. He'll have someone waiting for us on the other side."

"Sounds good. Let's move," Sam nods.

She lets Jason lead them through the complicated maze of hallways as he's aided by Stan's navigation. They finally reach the boats and Jason gets the others loaded on board while she attempts to start it.

"This is a great idea and all, but don't we need keys?" Brenda asks, a sarcastic tone to her voice.

Jason and Sam just look at each other and she grins at the look of pride on his face when the motor roars to life.

"Hotwiring is her specialty," is all he says, his grin turning into a little chuckle at the shocked looks Robin and Brenda give each other.

_'That's right, Girls. Jason is mine. All mine,'_ Sam thinks to herself as she directs the boat out of the harbor. She's not so sure why she's thinking it, but now that she's met Robin, she's more sure than ever before the woman is after Jason. Little does she know, it's not going to happen. Jason is with Sam now. And that's the way it's going to stay.

Sam just wishes she felt so confident. She has a feeling things are about to get really interesting . . . and not exactly in a good way.

To be continued . . .


	4. Chapter 4

PARNTERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 4

* * *

The minute the elevator reaches the penthouse floor, Sam practically runs off, too sick of hearing Brenda and Robin babble incessantly about all the good times they used to have with Jason. Reminiscing about the past is one thing. She can understand old friends getting together to relive old times. But that's not what's going on here. The entire boat trip across the lake and the entire car ride home has been nothing but a campaign in favor of Robin. She's trying to get back with Jason and it's starting to annoy Sam. Sure, it would be easy to just let Robin know in no uncertain terms that Jason is now spoken for. But where's the fun in that? As annoying as the girl has been, she's actually been amusing Sam with her blatant come on attempts that Jason has either ignored or has been completely oblivious to.

Sam nods to the guard at the door as he lets them inside the penthouse. He's a nice enough man and usually replaces Max on his days off or at times like this when he's handling a special job for Jason or Sonny. But she has a special place in her heart for Max and actually misses him when he's not around. She'll never forget the time he tried to hlep her put together her baby's crib. It ended up being easier for him to just hand her the tools when she needed them and make lunch for them when they got hungry. She still laughs to this day when she remembers the look on Sonny's face when he walked in and caught them off guard, a sandwich stuffed in Max's mouth while she added the final touches to the crib. That was a good day. She hopes to have more good days soon. But first she has to get Robin out of her house and out of Jason's life.

"Stan's inside waiting for you, Mr. Morgan," the guard says as he holds the door open for them.

"Thank you, Vincent. I'm going to need extra security up here while Ms. Barret and Ms. Scorpio are here," Jason explains. "No one gets up here without my verbal permission. You got that?"

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Morgan." Vincent closes the door and takes his post back in the hall.

Jason tosses the bag he was carrying near the desk and sets Sam's fake belly next to it.

"Ladies," he says, addressing Brenda and Robin. "Both of you will be staying here for a few days until we can get all the other stuff with Walsh taken care of."

"Thank you so much," Robin sobs, her doe eyes full of tears and gazing longingly at her ex-lover. "I can't believe you saved us."

"Thank Stan and Sam, too. I couldn't have done it without them," Jason shrugs, giving Sam a little private smile. "But in the mean time, Sam's going to take you two upstairs and show you to your rooms. There's clothes up there that should fit in case you want to clean up a little and get settled."

"What are you going to do?" Robin asks, casting a wary glance at Sam.

"I have to go over some things with Stan and talk to Sonny," he explains.

"So what you're saying is that you're dismissing us," Brenda chimes in, making Jason roll his eyes and sigh.

"I think I can see now what I ididn't/i miss about you," he teases.

"Ha ha. I see your sense of humor hasn't improved much, either," Brenda lobs back, enjoying the weird love-hate relationship she's always had with Jason. "But because I'm so tired and just got held hostage, I'll go upstairs like you asked."

"Well, thank you," he chuckles, watching the three ladies go upstairs together.

"Dude," Stan sighs wistfully.

"What?"

"You got three hotties like that under your roof and you're wasting time talking to me? You're sick, man."

"Let's just get down to business," Jason says, ignoring Stan's comment. There's only one hottie he's concerned with anyway. And the faster he gets Brenda and Robin out of his house, the sooner it is before he can have Sam all to himself.

Brenda tries hard to keep the fake smile on her face while Sam shows them to their rooms, but she's relieved when the woman finally shuts up and leaves them to their own devices. She waits until the hears footsteps going down the stairs before turning to Robin to get her reaction of the situation.

"So. What do you think? How long do you think it'll take before you make Jason realize he still loves you?" Brenda asks her with a smile.

"Come on, Brenda. Jason and I are years away from the people we used to be. I doubt going down that road again would be prudent."

"Oh, whatever," Brenda says, rolling her eyes at her friend. "You know you still want him and I just bet he still wants you. I think this Sam person is going to be trouble, though. I think she has the hots for Jason."

"What do you make of her?" Robin asks, sitting down on the bed next to Brenda. "She seems really dangerous. She'd have to be to survive in her line of work. But I wonder if Jason can really trust her? I wonder if _we_ should trust her."

"It might be something worth looking into," Brenda shrugs, a mischievous look on her face.

"And how would we do that? Where would we even start?"

"Right here. She said she keeps her clothes in this room because she has so many. Maybe she stores other stuff in here as well. It wouldn't hurt to look."

"Snoop through her belongings? Brenda, I'm not sure that's . . ."

"She told us to make ourselves at home and to take whatever we needed from here," Brenda reminds her. "And right now, what we need is some dirt on her."

Brenda sighs heavily at the look of doubt on Robin's face. Sometimes the woman is just too good for words.

"How about I go through her stuff and find out some juicy gossip. Then, if it's incriminating, you can take it to Jason as a gesture of good faith or whatever. I'm sure Jason would be grateful to know he's working with someone he can't trust."

"And if we don't find out anything?" Robin asks.

"Then it's no big deal. We'll put everything back like we found it. She won't even know we messed with anything."

While Robin has a silent conversation with her conscious on the matter, Brenda starts to look, pushing aside the obvious hiding places in search of something more secretive that could hold an explosive secret.

"I think I found something," she says excitedly, pulling out a box that was hidden under a loose floorboard. "Let's see what's inside!"

Robin is skeptical, but curious. She can't believe Brenda actually found something. But now that she has, she wants to know what it is. She watches as Brenda pulls out a stack of papers and flips through them. With a frusrated sigh, Brenda hands her the papers and continues her search anew

"What is all of this?"

"I don't know," Brenda shrugs. "You tell me. You're the doctor. They look like medical records from some clinic. But they don't really say what she was seen for."

Robin scans through the papers until something catches her eye, causing her to gasp in shock.

"She was pregnant," Robin whispers, looking around as if expecting to get caught. "About 10 weeks at the time of this examination."

"Was?" Brenda looks at the paper, but the only thing she can understand on it is a date. But that's enough to get the wheels in her head turning. "Wait a second. This is from May of 2004. That was like a year and a half ago. If she was pregnant a year and a half ago, shouldn't there be a baby here?"

"Exactly," Robin nods. She points out something to Brenda. "See this number here? That's the code for an abortion."

"She terminated the pregnancy?"

"It looks that way," Robin says, unsure what to think of it all.

"So, what do we do about it? Do you think Jason knows? Do you think it was his baby? Maybe you can subtly bring it up to see what he knows about it," Brenda suggests, causing Robin to stare at her in disbelief.

"Bring it up subtly? Brenda, how subtly can you ask someone about an abortion? It's not exactly polite dinner conversation."

"You're a doctor. You can make it come up. Besides, this may be your only opportunity to get the edge over Ms. McCall. Once she realizes that Jason is falling for you again, I'm sure she'll step up her little game to trap him."

"Game? Brenda this isn't a game."

"That's exactly what this is. And thinking like that is going to make you lose," Brenda warns her, packing away the other stuff so Sam won't notice it's been messed with. "You mark my words. If you just sit around on the sidelines, Jason's going to be lost to you forever."

Sam makes it downstairs just as Stan and Jason are finishing up with their conversation. There wasn't much for them to go over since Stan was able to listen to everything that went down. They just had to get everything straight before reporting in to Sonny.

"All done, boys?" she asks them, going into the closet for a light jacket. She picks up her keys off the desk and walks to the door with Stan.

"Where are you going?" Jason wonders, the confusion evident on his face.

"To pick up dinner. You don't expect me to cook, do you?"

"No!" he says quickly, making her laugh. She knows she sucks at cooking, so she can hardly blame him for his reaction. "Why don't I go? Or why don't you have them deliver? I don't really want you out there all alone right now."

"It might raise some suspicion if we have a ton of food delivered here. We need to stay low key for now while Robin and Brenda are here. I won't be long," she promises, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "But you might want to go up and check on your guests. I don't think I make them too comfortable."

He gives her another confused look that she just laughs at before walking out the door with Stan.

"What was that all about?" Stan asks her as they wait for the elevator.

"Jealous ex-girlfriend, I believe," Sam explains. "I think Miss Scorpio was expecting another chance with Jason, but is disappointed to see that I'm in the picture."

"So you're just going to leave her there with Jason to try something while you're gone?"

"I trust Jason completely, Stan."

"Yeah, but how much do you trust Robin? Or Brenda? She's hot and all, but she looks like she's up to something."

"I definitely don't trust her," Sam nods.

"How about I go get the food and bring it back," Stan offers. "That way, you still won't have to be concerned with having that much food delivered, plus, you won't have to go out to get it yourself."

"Thanks, Stan," she smiles. "Just talk to Jimmy at the Golden Dragon and tell him to double the usual McCall order. He's a good guy and will keep things discrete."

The elevator arrives and Stan boards while she goes back inside the penthouse. Seeing that Jason absent from the living room, she assumes he's up with the others and goes upstairs too. With about a half hour before the food arrives, she decides to shower and get comfortable before facing Robin and Brenda and their funky attitude towards her. She can only hope this protection of them won't last much longer.

Jason taps on the door and steps inside, giving curious glares to the guilty looking women standing in the room Sam used to sleep in.

"Is everything okay in here?"

"Yeah," Brenda smiles broadly, sending a quick look over to Robin.

"Yeah, we're good. You just surprised us," Robin covers.

Jason knows they're up to something, but it's a common thing with those two. They always seem to be up to something when they get together. It's generally harmless, though, so he decides not to worry about it too much. For now, anyway.

"I just came to check and see if you two were getting settled."

"We're good," Brenda assures him. "Where's Sam?"

"She went to get dinner. Probably Chinese," he adds with a little chuckle.

"Since when do you eat Chinese?" Robin asks, a look of utter shock on her face.

"It's not so bad," he shrugs before turning towards the door. "I'm going to go get a shower before dinner. The food will probably be here in about a half hour if either of you want to change before then."

He leaves them alone and is surprised by the yawn that catches him off guard. He's more tired than he realized he was and suddenly can't wait to get to bed. Because that means Sam will be there with him. That thought brings a flush to his cheeks thinking about what happened the last time they were in bed together.

He walks into his bedroom, stopping when he hears the shower running. He sees Sam's disgarded clothes on the bed and gets a huge smile on his face. He peels his own clothes off and tips quietly into the bathroom.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," she calls from through the shower door.

He opens it and steps inside quickly to avoid losing too much heat. His arms immediately go around her and pulls her close to him.

"Not that I don't like finding you naked and in the shower, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, Stan convinced me it would be a mistake leaving my man in the clutches of two women who want him in a bad way," she laughs, rubbing her soapy hands up and down his chest. "He's ordering the food and will drop it off for us."

"Remind me to have Sonny give him a raise," Jason gasps when her soapy hands roam lower.

"How about I give you one instead?" Sam whispers into his ear, laughing when he groans aloud.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," he laughs, grabbing her in his arms and lifting her off the ground. Her legs wrap around his waist and he unerringly finds his way inside her.

"Can we do this?" she asks, her words turning into whimpers when he starts to move.

"We already are doing this," he chuckles, then groans at the exquisite feel of her all around him. "But if you're in doubt, I must be doing something wrong. How about this?"

He lifts one of her legs higher to find an angle that leaves her trembling and practically makes her scream. He crushes his mouth to hers to muffle the noise that the shower doesn't camouflage. Nothing can penetrate the little piece of heaven they've created for themselves. Not even the sound as the bedroom door opens or the soft steps of the person who walks inside.

To be continued . . .


	5. Chapter 5

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 5

* * *

Robin walks quietly around the bedroom, not yet wanting to alert Jason to her presence. It's been a long time since she's been in his room. Memories of all the times they made love rush to her mind, the thoughts making her cheeks flush. They always had to be careful, but from what she remembers, things couldn't have been better between her and Jason. She felt his love everytime he touched her. She misses that - the love, the affection, the touch. So many people are too afraid to even touch her now.

She sighs and sits on the bed, wanting nothing more than to climb between the covers and wait for him to exit the bathroom. But too many years have passed. They have to work their way back to that level of their relationship. For now, she'll just take it slow.

She unbuttons her shirt and takes it off, draping it across the chair next to the dresser. Her pants are next and end up in the same place as the shirt. She opens the top drawer of the dresser and smiles at what she finds. Jason still keeps his t-shirts and boxers folded neatly there. She trained him to do that. Before they lived together, he would keep everything thrown sloppily in a clothes basket.

She takes out a pair of boxers and slips into them, even though they're so big on her. She ties a knot in the waist to keep them up. Then she waits. Minutes later, she begins to wonder if Jason ever intends on getting out the shower. Her plan is for him to 'accidentally' catch her as she's putting on his shirt. She'll feign embarrassment at him catching her half dressed and watch as he tries to be noble and avert his eyes. But he'll remember all the times before when he's seen her naked and it'll remind him of all those good times. Hopefully it'll be enough to erase the memories of her betrayal. Otherwise their reconciliation will be a slow and arduous process.

--

Jason wraps a towel around his waist and then carries a boneless Sam from the shower, wrapping her in a towel as well and then sitting her on the counter by the sink.

"That was the best shower I've ever had," she sighs, placing a kiss on his neck. "Maybe we can just skip dinner and take this party to the bed."

"And leave Brenda and Robin to their own devices? I don't think so. Brenda will find a way to get in trouble . . . trust me."

He takes her towel and starts rubbing her skin gently to dry the water. When he finishes the top part of her body, he kneels down and dries the rest of her, pausing a moment to kiss her small scar on her stomach from her c-section.

"That tickles," she giggles, running her hands through his hair. She sighs contently and then moans as his kisses start to heat up again.

As if suddenly realizing his effect on her, he abruptly stops and continues drying her legs.

"No fair," she pouts. "Getting me all worked up with no way for me to do anything about it."

"Soon, Baby," he says, the gravelly quality in his voice her only indication of his arousal. "We'll make it a quick dinner and send them to bed. I got big plans for you tonight."

"Big plans, huh?" she asks teasingly. "That sounds cryptic. You want to clue me in?"

"You were amazing tonight, you know that?"

She gives him a curious look, wondering how this seemingly change of subject relates to his 'big plans'. But the look in his eyes is so loving and awestruck. She figures he'll get to the point. And even if he doesn't it looks as if she'll like whatever he has to say.

"I know how hard it must have been for you to be in that disguise. But it just reminded me how beautiful you are pregnant. And it made me realize that I want to see you like that again. Soon."

"You want a baby?"

"I do," he nods, a smile growing on his face. "You know how hard it is for me to imagine things. But I didn't have to imagine anything tonight seeing you like that. You looked just like you did the last time you were pregnant. You even had that same glow."

"Glow?"

"Yeah," he laughs. "There was just something luminescent about you. It really is no wonder how I fell in love with you."

He stands up from his kneeling position and kisses her nose before gathering her in his arms again. She laughs and kicks her feet in the air as he briefly twirls her around.

"You're crazy," she says, trying to catch her breath from all the laughing.

"Crazy in love with you," he agrees, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

He has to fumble for the doorknob, but manages to get the door open and stumble over to the bed, dropping her when he gets there.

"You never told me about your 'big plans', she says, still gasping for air, although now from his hot kisses rather than from laughing.

"My plans . . ." he says, starting a line of kisses down her neck.

"Are to do whatever it takes . . . " his kisses reach her towel and he uses his teeth to pull it off of her.

"To do what?" she practically moans as his teeth graze her skin lightly.

"To get you good and knocked up."

Her eyes widen in shock just before they both crack up at his uncharacteristic statement.

The gasp of shock, however, comes from neither of them, and they both look towards the dresser to see Robin, frozen in space, staring at them with her mouth wide open. But what surprises them more than her actual presence is the state, or rather unstate, of her dress.

Sam quickly rolls to her side, her back facing Robin, and wraps the towel back around her.

"What are you doing in here?" Jason asks just because he can't think of anything else to say. "And why don't you have on any clothes?"

The embarrassed woman quickly turns around and slips the t-shirt on over her head, too mortified to turn back around to face them.

"I . . . I . . ." she tries to explain, but her words get lost.

"I think we should all just get dressed right now," Sam suggests, trying to diffuse the situation. Right now, they're all just pretty embarrassed and not really in a position to figure anything out. Besides, she's rather not deal with Robin's feelings for Jason just yet. Especially not on an empty stomach. As if on cue, her stomach gives an angry rumble that makes Jason chuckle.

"Sam's right. Let's get dressed, eat, and then talk. Because there's obviously been a lot of changes that need to be addressed," Jason says.

Robin just nods and all but runs from the room. Jason turns to look at Sam and just shrugs his shoulders.

"Any more half naked ex-girlfriends I can expect to find in our bedroom?"

With the anger flashing in her eyes and her arms folded across her chest, Jason finds himself a little afraid of Sam at the moment, even if she is standing there in just a towel.

"Sam, I . . . "

"Forget it," she huffs, shaking her head in disgust. She stomps over to her dresser and pulls out some lounge clothes, throwing them on quickly. She pulls her hair up into a messy ponytail, knowing she's going to regret not brushing the tangles through later.

"Sam, are you mad at me?" Jason asks, confused by the outburst. "In case you forgot, I was in the shower with you. I was just as shocked to see her in here as you were."

"I know," Sam says quietly, her anger receding as quickly as it rose up. "I just . . . I get so tired sometimes."

"Tired of what?" He takes her hand and they sit together on the bed.

"Jason, you're such a good person and everyone loves you. Carly, Courtney, and now Robin. I feel as if I have to fight for you everyday. And sometimes I worry that I'll lose one day. I worry that one day you'll realize you really are too good for me."

"Is that what you really think? That you're not good enough to be with me? Sam, that's absurd. I told you before that I'm lucky to have someone like you in my life," he insists. "And if I haven't made that clear in the past, I'll have to make sure to tell you on a daily basis. I love you. I'm going to always love you because you make me whole in a way no one ever has."

"I love you too," she whispers, tears falling down her cheeks. "I love you so much, Jason."

"Then don't doubt me. Don't doubt us. This is forever, Sam."

He leans over and kisses her, his relief growing when he feels her respond to him.

"Thank you," she says with a small smile. "Thank you for loving me through my insecurities."

"Anytime." He gives her one more quick kiss before pushing her towards the door. "Now I need to get dressed. You go downstairs and play nice."

She just shakes her head, but does what he asks. Before walking out the door, however, she reaches into her jewelry box and pulls out something she couldn't wear on the undercover assignment.

"Let me," he says, taking the engagement ring from her hand and slipping it back on her finger where it belonged. He gives her one more kiss and lets her go.

On the outside of the door, Robin hears the footsteps approaching and quickly, but quietly, walks the other direction. She slips into a room and waits for Sam to walk on by. She's not sure why she's hiding from the woman. Probably due to the embarrassment from what happened earlier.

She can't believe she let Brenda talk her into that stupid plan.

_"Trust me, it'll work,"_ Brenda had promised. _"If he asks why you're in his room, just tell him you would be more comfortable in his clothes than the clothes of a strange woman you don't even know."_

Well he asked. And Robin couldn't seem to be able to make that lie come out of her mouth, so shocked at seeing him on the verge of making love to another woman. Trying to have a baby with her. He loves her. And Robin doesn't know why she didn't see it before.

She sighs and turns around, resting wearily against the door. For the first time since entering the room, she looks around and really notices her surroundings. She can't hold back her gasp as she immediately recognizes what this room was previously used for even though the room is now almost entirely empty of any furniture.

She takes in the pale pink walls and the rocking chair in the corner. She can almost imagine the crib that must have been on the wall next to where she's standing. Across the room is a small white dresser and she can't help but be curious about what's inside. She walks over to it and hesitantly pulls open the top drawer, finding a book inside.

A small voice inside her tells her that she shouldn't look inside, but she can't resist. She flips open the cover and sees something that brings tears to her eyes. The whole book was empty except for two pictures. The first was of Sam curled up on the couch and asleep, her hand propped on her huge stomach and a baby book lying on her chest. The second featured a shot of Jason asleep on the couch like Sam. But instead of a book on his chest, he was cradling a tiny infant.

Suddenly Robin doesn't feel so good. And the need to get to Brenda before she does something stupid is overwhelming. She just hopes she isn't too late.

--

Sam gets to the bottom of the stairs and takes a deep breath before stepping in the living room. Brenda's down there alone, looking at the pictures on the mantle. Sam hears her gasp in shock when she gets to the one of Jason and Sam together. She stares at it for a few seconds before Sam hears her mutter something.

"That little tramp."

"I take it you're referring to me."

Brenda jumps at the surprise and quickly puts the picture back on the mantle, stepping away from it like it's a dangerous bomb or something.

"You heard me, huh?" Brenda asks, not even denying saying what she said. "I guess there's no reason for us to even pretend we like each other."

"And why is it you don't like me? Because I don't have a problem with you. I actually just spent the better part of my day attempting to save your life. So what heinous crime have I committed to earn your disdain?"

"How long do you think it's going to last?" Brenda asks. "This playing house you're doing here with Jason?"

"Jason and I aren't iplaying/i anything, Brenda. We're together and we're in love. I'm sorry if that messes up any plans that you and Robin may have had, but Jason isn't available."

"Love," Brenda scoffs. "You think Jason loves you? Jason will never love anyone the way he loved Robin."

"Maybe not. But I know that Jason will never trust anyone the way he trusts me. It's the foundation of our relationship and it's something we value deeply."

"Trust. It's funny you mentioned that word," Brenda says, reaching into her pocket for the slip of paper she folded and placed there earlier. "I don't know if you know the meaning of that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you have a secret, Ms. McCall. One that will blow your relationship with Jason out of the water."

Brenda slowly and dramatically unfolds the paper and spends a few seconds studying it, drawing out her little performance to make Sam nervous.

"We all have secrets. Jason knows he doesn't know everything about my past. Things have happened in my life that I don't want him to ever find out about. He knows that and he's fine with it. Jason knows enough about me to know who I am, but more importantly, he knows _why_ I am. He understands me and despite what he knows, he loves me."

"I guess we'll see won't we," Brenda says, a wicked grin on her face. "We'll see just how much Jason loves you after he finds out what you've done. And I'm not talking about your past. I'm talking about something very recent that I doubt he knows anything about since you went through so much trouble to get rid of it."

Sam's about to ask her what she's talking about when she hears the sound of footsteps on the stairs. They both look up to see Robin coming down with Jason right behind her.

"Aww, you two were spending some time alone? That's sweet," Brenda gushes, giving Sam a cocky grin. "It's almost as if the two of you were never separated."

"Yes, Brenda. We were together the entire six seconds it took us to come down these stairs," Jason says sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his ex-wife.

"Well, I'm glad you're both here. Sam was about to give us a lesson on trustworthiness, isn't that right Sam?"

Robin spies the paper in Brenda's hand and knows exactly what she's up to. She starts to panic, realizing this could be even a bigger mistake than her witnessing the private moment between Jason and Sam earlier.

"Brenda, we're hungry. Why don't we eat?" Robin says, trying to stop the other woman. But Brenda doesn't get the message.

"No," Sam stops her. "Let Brenda tell us just whatever it is she thinks she has on me. I told you before. Jason and I have no secrets."

"Even one so deep you kept hidden in the most secret of places?" Brenda teases, waving the paper in front of Sam's face. "Let me see if I can guess how this all happened. You find yourself in an unfortunate predicament and, not wanting Jason to find out about it, end things as quickly as possible. How am I doing so far?"

"Brenda, I don't even know what you're talking about," Sam says, shaking her head.

"She's just rambling," Robin tries to explain. "Jason, you know how she gets when her imagination starts to run away with her. We should just sit down and enjoy dinner."

"No, I think Brenda needs to get to her point."

Jason takes Sam's hand in his own and together they face Brenda, causing her to falter a little at their show of solidarity.

"Fine," Brenda sighs. "Just remember you asked for this."

She practically throws the paper at Jason and Sam and steps back, expecting an explosion.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is," Brenda smirks. "I know there's no description of the procedure, but Robin told me what that medical code stands for. An abortion. Care to explain that, Sam?"

"You went through my things?" Sam asks her, her eyes starting to brim with tears. "You found this piece of paper from a very painful time in my life and decided to try and ruin my life with it now?"

"This is low, even for you, Brenda," Jason says. He wraps his arms around Sam and closes his eyes, a lone tear making its way down his cheek. "What is this supposed to prove?"

"So I take it you knew about this. You knew that she killed her baby, maybe even your baby?"

"There's nothing to know," Sam whispers, wiping the tears from her face. She stares down at the paper in her hand, evidence of how she almost missed out on even the smallest chance to know her child and sighs, suddenly no longer in the mood for dinner. "I'm tired. If you all will excuse me, I think I'm just going to go on up to bed."

"Sam . . . "

"No, it's okay. Spend some time with your old friends," she says, glaring at the two women across the room. "It's obvious they need to be caught up on the more recent events of your life."

Jason watches her trudge up the stairs, the heaviness of her heart weighing down her steps. After she disappears from view, he turns his attention back to Robin and Brenda, the look on his face making it fairly obvious how he's feeling.

"We need to get a few things straight," he growls, causing the women to blanch. They seem afraid of him.

_"Good,"_ he thinks to himself. They need to be afraid. They need to be very, very afraid.

To be continued . . .


	6. Chapter 6

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 6

* * *

"Listen, Jason. We . . . "

Jason holds up his hand, stopping Brenda midsentence and continues his angry glare. She bites her lip and has the decency to at least seem contrite.

"The two of you are guests in my home. But this is also Sam's home and I won't have either of you disrespect her. Robin, no more sneaking into Sam and my bedroom. Brenda, no more snooping around Sam's personal belongings to find something you consider to be incriminating. What you ended up doing was reminding Sam and me of a very difficult time in our lives."

"Really? Her sneaking off to get rid of a baby was difficult for her how?" Brenda counters. "How could you forgive her for that when you couldn't forgive Robin for trying to unite a little boy with his true father."

"Brenda, I think there's a lot more going on here than either of us realizes," Robin says, handing her the pictures she found in the empty nursery upstairs. "Sam didn't terminate her pregnancy, did she?"

"She changed her mind," Jason says, taking the pictures from Brenda and sighing heavily. For awhile, he just stares, remembering back to that time. "Before you ask, no. The baby wasn't mine. It was Sonny's."

That causes a gasp from both of them, but he just ignores them and continues with his story.

"But I was going to be the baby's father. Sam and I planned on raising her together. We planned on naming her Lila, after my grandmother. We even planned on taking her to Hawaii to visit Sam's brother when she was old enough. We watched that baby grow, felt her move, even felt her hiccup. We grew to love her. And because of her, I grew to love her mother."

"How long did she live?" Robin asks gently, pointing to the other picture of Jason and a baby.

"Lila was stillborn," he whispers, shaking his head. "This was our other daughter, Hope. We were adopting her. But her birth mother wanted her back just as we had grown attached to her."

"So you lost two babies?" Brenda asks, the pity evident in her voice. That makes Jason angry for some reason.

"It's not like you care," he spits out. "It's not like you can imagine what your little stunt has done to Sam. It took us so long to get over losing Lila. But you throw it back in her face and accuse her of trying to kill her own child. She loved that baby, Brenda. So did I. It broke my heart when I held her tiny, still body in my hands, still warm from being inside of her mother. And it almost killed me to have to tell Sam that our little girl was gone when she woke up."

"Jason, we didn't realize," Robin assures him. "I actually tried to stop Brenda when I figured out what had happened. We didn't intend on this hurting you. We just thought you had a right to the truth."

"You really are the worst kind of hypocrite, Robin," he says. "Everything has to be about you and played by your skewed rules of truth and righteousness. I have a newsflash for you. There is no absolute truth. And no one is perfectly righteous. And once again, you've stuck your nose in where it doesn't belong and has ended up ripping my heart to shreds. You hurt Sam bad. And when Sam hurts, I hurt."

Jason walks to the door and opens it, motioning for the guard to come over.

"We're going to need to double up on security for the night shift," he orders. "Make sure someone is posted at the elevator and near the stair access as well as the front door. No one gets in and no one gets up here, you got it?"

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Morgan," the guard nods, closing the door as he leaves.

Jason heads up the stairs, but stops to give them one more set of instructions.

"The guards are for your safety until this thing with Walsh is all the way over. As much as we all may hate it, we're going to be stuck here with each other for a little while. After that, you'll be free to go back to your own lives and leave me and Sam to ours."

Silence falls on the living room until Jason is all the way out of view and they hear his bedroom door close. Even then, the two women just stare at each other, not sure of what to make of everything they learned tonight.

"That was an interesting story," Brenda sighs, picking up the pictures and staring at them. "Can you believe she was going to have Sonny's baby?"

Robin hears her best friend and just rolls her eyes, wondering to herself how is it she became friends with someone so selfish and single minded. But then again, according to what Jason just said, she's the same way too. Nevertheless, she can't help but be annoyed at Brenda's apparent lack of compassion. If not for Sam, at least for Jason.

"Brenda, do you hear yourself? Jason just told us about the daughters he lost and all you can dwell on is Sam and Sonny?"

"Come on, Robin. You heard him. They weren't _really_ his kids. Sure it's sad that the baby died, but the other little girl is probably much better off with her real family. Sam doesn't strike me as the maternal type. She sleeps with not one, but two known mobsters, and expects to be able to keep her baby safe?"

"Who are we to judge? We both slept with known mobsters, too," Robin reminds her.

"Yeah, but we got out of that life, hoping they would too. Sam just encourages it. Jason deserves better than that. Jason deserves someone like you to help him make the decision to leave the mob again."

"He loves Sam."

"It's not love. It's lust. He just wants her for her body, which I must admit, is pretty awesome."

"Jealous, Brenda?" Robin asks with a giggle.

"Aren't you?"

They share a brief laugh before silence descends again on the room.

"This can't go on. We're making him miserable, Brenda. The last thing I want to do is make Jason any more miserable than I already have."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this thing with Walsh needs to be over now. And I'm afraid that since I started it, I'm going to have to be the one to finish it."

"I don't like the sound of that," Brenda says, visibly worried about her friend. "You can't do anything stupid, Robin. That's my department."

"Don't worry," Robin says, forcing a smile. "I won't do anything stupid. Not tonight, anyway."

She gives Brenda one last smile before going up to the room she's staying in. Jason's words to her continue to echo in her head. Despite her intents, she has hurt him more than she ever wanted to. It's time for that to stop. She loves him, but being around him is too painful for them both. She needs to settle things with Walsh once and for all.

--

Sam lets out a sigh and snuggles deeper into Jason's arms. Her eyes pop open when she feels his lips press gentle kisses to the back of her neck.

"Good morning," he says when he senses that she's awake. "I'm glad you're up finally."

"From the feel of things, you've been up for awhile." She giggles and presses her bottom into the cradle of his hips, feeling how _up_ her really is. "Your girlfriends couldn't help you out with that last night, huh?"

"This is only for you, Baby," he laughs, playfully biting her ear. "But if you don't want it . . . "

"I never said that." She quickly rolls over and climbs on top of him, straddling his waist. "You touch another woman and I'll have to shoot you."

She captures his lips in a claiming kiss, squeaking when his hands travel down her back and grab her butt, grinding her hips where he most wants her to be. He gets the upper hand and rolls her over until she's soon writhing beneath him.

"We're not really going to do this now," she pants, moaning loudly when his lips suck on that perfect spot on her neck. "We have guests and you can get kind of noisy."

"I'm noisy?" he laughs. "You're the one who can't stay quiet. I'll prove it."

He returns to his ministrations, kissing her to a frenzy until she starts moaning and whimpering again.

"You're so hot, Baby," he groans, rolling off of her and trying to calm his breath.

"Then why are you stopping?" She reaches for him again, but he grabs her hands before she can touch him and make him lose his resolve.

"Because you're _really_ hot, Sam. I think you have a fever or something. Are you feeling okay?"

She avoids eye contact with him and turns to her side, hoping he'll take her silence as her answer.

"Sam, what's wrong?" he asks, his voice near the edge of panic.

"I'm fine. I just think I have a little cold or something, that's all."

"How do you know it's just a cold?"

"Runny nose, fever, aches, chills . . . doesn't that sound like a cold to you? And I'm a little crampy, like it's that time of the month. So add PMS on top of it all."

Having quickly memorized her cycle soon after she moved back in with him for his own self preservation, he does a little date calculation in his head and feels that something still isn't quite right. But he doesn't get a chance to press her for more details. A knock at the door interrupts them. He sighs a frustrated sigh and goes to open the door.

"I think we might have a problem," Brenda says quickly, forgoing any pleasantries like _'good morning'_ or _'sorry to disturb you'_. "Robin's gone."

"What? What do you mean she's gone?"

"She felt really bad about last night. So she said she was going to figure out a way to handle Walsh by herself. I warned her not to do anything stupid, but I guess she didn't listen to me."

"Let's get dressed, Jason," Sam suggests. "Then we can go out looking for her. I don't think she could have gotten very far."

"Okay," he nods before turning back to Brenda. "We'll be downstairs in a few minutes. You need to be thinking back to the last thing she told you so that you can tell us exactly what she said."

Sam gets out of the bed and reaches over to grab a pair of jeans from her bottom drawer. A sharp pain shoots down her side and she's grateful Jason can't see her wince in pain. She doesn't want to worry him. She pauses for a few moments and takes a few deep breaths until the pain recedes.

"Hey. You okay?" Jason's concerned voice asks.

When she looks up at him, she notices him standing next to her with a worried expression on his face and can't help but wonder how long he's been standing there.

"I'm fine," she whispers, still a little out of breath. "Let's go find Robin."

Before he can launch a protest, she grabs her clothes and runs into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Jason stands in shock for a moment before he realizes she's right. They have to find Robin and finish this thing once and for all. Then afterwards, he's driving Sam to the hospital himself until they find out for sure she's okay. He can't help but get the feeling that there's something seriously wrong with her.

--

Robin pulls the hat down over her eyes and walk quickly down to the docks. It's where she agreed to meet with Walsh's people earlier when she spoke with them. But for some reason, she's now feeling a bit apprehensive. She now isn't so sure that meeting with him is the right thing to do. She just isn't cut out for this kind of life.

What she told Brenda last night was on partially true. She really does want this thing with Walsh to be over, but that's not why she set up the meeting. She wanted to prove to Jason that she can be just as tough as Sam. He seems to really love that about her - her willingness to get involved with his business. Somewhere in her brain, Robin thought that if she could do the same thing, then Jason would come back to her.

Standing alone on the docks so early in the morning waiting to confront a dangerous man makes her realize that she just isn't cut out for this. As much as she loves Jason, she isn't cut out for his life.

"This is ridiculous," she mutters, mostly to herself, and turns to walk back the same way she came. Hopefully she can sneak back inside and Jason will never even know she was gone.

--

They watch her as she walks away and the one driving grabs his gun and starts to get out of the car.

"Don't," a voice from the back seat demands.

"She's running. We need to grab her before she gets away."

"She was always just a means to an end. My brother knew of her previous relationship with Morgan and used her to get to him. But he came to us and was able to rescue her, killing my brother in the process. This time, it's going to work the other way around. This time, she's going to lead us to him. Follow her."

To be continued . . .


	7. Chapter 7

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 7

* * *

By the time they all get downstairs, Robin's trying to sneak into the apartment. She stops abruptly when she sees them all staring at her, the looks on their faces ranging from anger to concern.

"What are you doing, Robin?" Brenda screeches, running across the room to grab the other woman and pull her into a dramatic hug. "I thought we established last night that I was the one to do stupid things!"

"I'm fine, Brenda. I swear. I realized I was being foolish and came back before I could meet with Walsh's men," she explains.

"You talked to them? Let them know where you were?"

"I didn't give them this address or anything, Jason. I made arrangements to meet them on the docks."

"Are you insane?" Sam asks. "You were going to meet some dangerous men on the docks all alone?"

"And you wouldn't have?" Robin counters.

"That's different. Sam can handle herself. She can handle this life," Jason tells her. "Do I like it? No. But the fact is, she has the ability and if I had to have someone watching my back, I'd rather it be her."

"And that's what I realized when I was on the docks. No matter what I tell myself, I can't fit into this life. Sure I can pretend to accept what you do and tell myself that I can handle it. But I can't. No matter how much I love you, Jason, I don't love this about you."

"Robin . . "

"Nevermind," she says, interrupting him. "None of this even matters, does it? Besides, I didn't even see the guys. I left almost as soon as I got there."

"That doesn't mean they didn't see you," Sam tells her, going to Jason's desk and grabbing his lock box from the bottom drawer. She takes out the guns and hands one to Jason before returning to box to it's hiding place. "You probably led them right to us."

"What do you mean?" Brenda asks, her eyes wide with fright.

Before anyone can answer her, the lights shut off in the apartment. Brenda and Robin let out little screams, but stop when Jason motions for them to be quiet.

"Take them up to the bedroom," he whispers to Sam.

She nods and leads the way, her gun drawn in case they run into trouble. They quickly make it up the stairs and hide in the bedroom, locking the door behind them.

"What's happening?" Robin cries when she hears the muffled sounds of gunfire from downstairs. "We can't just sit here and leave him out there all alone."

"_We_ aren't going to do anything, Robin. You and Brenda are going to stay here and I'm going to go check on Jason."

Sam leaves the two women huddled on the floor near the closet and steps outside the room, being careful not to make any noise. She hears someone on the stairs panting for breath and draws her gun on them.

"Stop where you are," she says menacingly, pressing the gun into the back of his head. When he rolls over, she gasps, realizing it's Jason.

"They're gone for now," he manages to slowly say, each breath more painful than the last. "More coming, though. We have to go."

Sam searches his body and finds a large, gaping wound in his chest just below his heart. She's guessing the bullet knicked his lungs, causing his breathing difficulties.

He tries to crawl into the bedroom, a trail of blood left on the floor behind him, but he collapses just as he reaches the threshold.

"Robin, Brenda. Come help me," Sam screams, panicked to see her unconscious fiance struggle to breath.

"What happened to him?" Robin asks, immediately switching to doctor mode. She checks his pulse and gets a worried look on her face. "His breathing is pretty shallow and his pulse is weak and thready. He needs to get to the hospital right now."

"We can't go through the front door," Sam tells them. "Jason took care of the first wave of guys, but there are more coming."

"But it's the fastest way out of here," Brenda reminds them as she starts to panic. "He doesn't look like he has long."

"Okay," Sam says, an idea coming to her. "Take him down the back stairs to the kitchen. There's a door there that these guys might not know about."

They hear footsteps down stairs and realize they're running out of time.

"Let's go, we have to move him now!"

Robin and Brenda each grab an arm and Sam takes his legs, almost dropping him when another pain strikes her. She mutters a curse and holds her breath to try to ignore the pain.

"Sam, are you all right?" Robin asks, true concern in her voice.

"Don't worry about me. He needs to get to the hospital now," she grunts, discouraged that the pain isn't lessening like before. Each step is excrutiating, but she somehow manages to make it to the car and getting Jason safely inside.

"We need keys," Brenda says, seeing that Sam is in no condition to drive.

"Under the driver's seat," she pants, curling up into a little ball as the pain explodes again. She holds onto her side and lets out one last whimper as she mercifully passes out.

--

As the anesthesia wears off, Jason struggles towards consciousness, remembering that he was in the middle of something important.

"Sam," he whimpers, hoping he made it in time to warn her of the other gunmen.

"Jason. It's Robin. Take it slow. You just had surgery. You shouldn't even be awake yet."

Robin? Jason tries to look around and sees that he's in a hospital room. As far as he can tell, Robin is the only one in there with him and he starts to panic, uneasy that Sam isn't there.

"Sam?" he asks again, quickly losing his battle with the medication. He can barely keep his eyes open, she he doesn't even try any more. He drifts back to sleep, but can't stop his mind from worrying about Sam. If she isn't here, then where is she? He can only manage a quick prayer that she's safe before the darkness completely takes over.

--

The next time he wakes up, he immediately feels the explosive pain in his chest and remembers the bullet that entered there. He looks around the room and sees a small, dark haired woman curled up in a chair across the room and lets out a sigh of relief.

"Sam? Wake up, Baby. I was worried about you."

The woman sits up and to his dismay, he sees that it's Robin.

"Hey," she says with a yawn, stretching her hands over her head. "How are you?"

"Where's Sam?" he asks, ignoring her question. "I know something is wrong. Now tell me."

"Jason, I need to tell your doctor that you're awake. He's going to want to check you out. I'll be right back."

Before he can protest, she has practically run from the room, leaving him wondering what they're trying to hide from him. He's more convinced now that something really is wrong with Sam. He has to find her.

When Robin and the doctor return, they're shocked to find Jason up and halfway across the room, heavily leaning on his IV pole and trying to make it out the door.

"Mr. Morgan, I insist you return to bed this instant. You just had major surgery yesterday," the doctor yells, too surprised to see his patient up and about.

"I have to find Sam," Jason groans, finding it more and more difficult to stay on his feet. But he refuses to prove the doctor right. "I have to know she's all right."

Robin and the doctor look at each other and realize that while they can overpower him and force him back into the bed, it would probably cause him more harm than good. And with Jason's mother being his immediate supervisor, the doctor figures they'd all be better off letting Jason do what he's so intent on doing.

"I won't be a part of this. Dr. Scorpio, there's a wheelchair in the hall. I'm going to finish the rest of my rounds before coming back to check on this patient. I'll be back in about 45 minutes."

"Thanks, Dr. Granger," Robin says, following the man out of the room and returning with the wheel chair.

Jason eagerly sits in it, all of his strength now gone.

"You know you're going to regret this once the pain fully sets in," Robin warns him, but pushes him down the hall nonetheless. "Sam is up on the 8th floor."

"What happened to her?" he asks quietly, partly from being so breathless from the pain, and partly because he's so worried about her.

"She collapsed right after we got you out of the penthouse. By the time we got her here, she was burning up and still unconscious."

"She had a fever this morning when we woke up," Jason sighs. "I was going to insist on taking her to the doctor, but . . . "

"You all had to deal with my stupidity," Robin finishes for him. "It's my fault that those guys were able to follow me back to your place and shoot you. Jason, I'm sorry."

"I think I understand why you did it. But I wish you hadn't. Your actions ended up hurting Sam," he says, seeming to completely ignore the hole in his own chest.

The rest of the trip to Sam's hospital room is taken in silence, Robin not knowing what more she can say to Jason. Besides, she has a feeling she could be anyone pushing his wheelchair, so long as it gets him to Sam. All else seems to leave his mind when he's focused on her. That, more than anything, pains Robin. It's bad enough that he's moved on with his life without her. She expected that. But compared to the look in his eyes when he's with Sam, it's like any life he had before meant nothing. It's obvious that Sam is his life now. She means more to him than anyone ever has. Robin can't seem to wrap her mind around that.

"Thanks," he says, almost as an afterthought when Robin pushes him up to Sam's bed.

"I'll go get her doctor. Maybe we can find out what's wrong with her."

Robin sighs when Jason barely registers that she's gone, his full attention aimed directly at Sam. He cradles her tiny hand in his larger ones and presses a kiss to each of her fingers.

"I love you," he whispers, and Robin takes that as her cue to leave.

She wants to give them some time alone, but he doesn't need to be up for too long. So she quickly finds Sam's doctor and the two of them go into the room.

"Jason, this is Sam's doctor," Robin introduces.

"Dr. Reynolds," the woman says, giving Jason her hand to shake. "Dr. Scorpio tells me you have questions regarding Miss McCall. What can I help you with?"

"You can start by telling me what's wrong with her. Why is she here? Why is she unconscious?"

"Miss McCall has an infection. We've been treating it with antibiotics for the past two days. She's going to be fine."

"An infection? What kind of infection would knock her out like this?" he asks, confused at the diagnosis.

"It wasn't so much the infection as it was the extreme pain. Miss McCall had a c-section last year, correct? Well, internally, it wasn't quite healed yet. The pressure from inside irritated the uterine lining, causing the pain and infection. That, along with the stress of your injuries, were a dangerous combination. Your mother consulted on this case and we thought it best to keep Miss McCall sedated and unconscious to protect her as well as the baby."

Robin and Jason both jerk up their heads and look at the doctor with twin stunned looks.

"Baby? Did you say . . . "

"You didn't know," the doctor says.

"She's pregnant?"

"Against her doctor's advice," Dr. Reynolds admonishes. "It says in her chart that Miss McCall was warned to wait at least a year before conceiving again."

"We didn't . . . this wasn't . . . we were careful," Jason sighs, still stunned and trying to absorb the shock. "The baby did this to her? _My_ baby did this to her?"

"Jason, this isn't your fault," Robin tries to tell him. "Sometimes these things just happen."

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Of course," the doctor assures him. "The antibiotics are doing their job and healing the infection. Sam and the baby will be just fine. She'll just have to be carefully monitored as the baby grows larger to avoid any more problems."

"A baby," Jason sighs again, shaking his head in disbelief. "Sam's having my baby."

He looks over at Robin with the biggest smile on his face, too happy to notice the pained smile she tries to give him in return.

"Congratulations," Robin says, trying to sound happy about it.

"I'm going to have a baby," he says again. He tries to rise from his chair to kiss Sam's stomach, but the bending motion brings the realization of his pain and injuries back to the forefront. He lets out an anguished groan and falls back to his seat.

"Jason, you're bleeding," Robin notes, slight panic in her voice. "We have to get you back to bed. You've been up for longer than you should."

"I want to stay with her," he pants, a light sweat breaking on his forehead.

"You need to focus on your own recovery," Robin insists as she pushes him towards the door. When she doesn't get a response from him, she realizes he's hurting worse than he's letting on. The trip back to his room was a lot quicker than the trip to Sam's room. An orderly walking by helps her get him settled back into his bed.

"I'll have the nurse come and give you more pain meds," she tells him, not even asking if he needs them. The look on his face says it all.

Within minutes, the nurse is there and he gratefully accepts the gift she brings. Seconds later, the drugs begin to take effect and he's once again feeling no pain.

"Better?"

"Much," he slurs, the drugs affecting is speech as well as his ability to stay away. "As long as I know Sam is okay, I'll be fine."

"Get some rest," Robin whispers as his eyes begin to droop close.

"Sam," he murmurs, her name the last thing on his lips as the drugs finally take over.

Robin takes a seat next to him and can't stop the tears as they fall down her face. If she didn't see it before, she certainly sees it now. The love Jason has for Sam is like nothing she's ever seen before. And she should be happy for him. She really should. Maybe one day she will be. But for right now, she's going to sit here with him and remember the love they shared. Maybe, just maybe, if she wishes hard enough, he'll remember it too.

To be continued . . .


	8. Chapter 8

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Chapter 8

* * *

"I hear congratulations are in order. Beautiful woman. Beautiful baby. You have it all now. Just remember, when you get it all, that's when you have everything to lose."

Jason struggles back to consciousness, the words striking terror in his heart. When he looks around, he only finds an empty room. It must have been a dream. A terrible, terrible dream.

He settles back and tries to go back to sleep, but his heart is still pounding in his chest. Something is wrong. He can feel it. He has to get to Sam.

He's halfway across the room by the time the door opens, Robin and Brenda walking inside.

"What do you think you're doing?" Robin asks.

"What happened with those guys who attacked us?" he frantically asks. "Did the cops get them?"

"We managed to get out before they could get to us, so I really don't know. I know the cops responded to the gunfire in your apartment, but according to my Uncle Mac, they didn't catch the guy in charge. The guys are probably long gone by now," Robin tries to convince him.

Jason groans, not liking what he's hearing. Robin and Brenda think he's moaning from pain and try to get him back on the bed.

"No, I have to get to Sam," he tells them, swatting away their hands. "Something's not right. I can feel it."

"But Jason, you . . . " Brenda starts.

"Either help me, or get out of my way," he interrupts her, not wanting to hear any objections. "The woman I love, the mother of my child, is lying in a hospital bed unconscious and completely vulnerable. I bam/b going to her."

Realizing there's nothing they can do, Robin and Brenda step aside and let him pass. He's moving much easier after another day of rest. Robin was able to convince the doctors to keep him as sedated as they're keeping Sam in order for him to allow his body to heal. But now that he's up and moving, there's no holding him back.

"Should we go after him?" Brenda asks her.

"We have to," Robin sighs. "He's going to get himself killed."

"I'm sure he can manage a trip through the hospital to visit Sam without inflicting too much damage on himself," Brenda starts to joke. But then she sees the look of dread on Robin's face and realizes her friend knows more than she's telling. "Robin? What's going on? What is Jason walking into?"

Robin just closes her eyes and shakes her head, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Nevermind. Let's just go catch up with Jason . . . before it's too late."

--

Earlier that day . . .

_Robin stands outside of Sam's room, looking in at the woman, wondering what Jason sees in her. Wondering how this woman managed to capture his heart so completely._

_"We finally meet."_

_Robin spins around to come face to face with the man who's voice she's only heard._

_"I'm Benton Walsh. I believe you knew my brother, Langford," he says politely, offering his hand for her to shake. When she refuses the gesture, he just shakes his head and looks at her. "How rude. But I shouldn't be surprised. You were also very rude when you stood me up on the docks the other day."_

_"Well, it was rude of you to come into my friends home and shoot him," Robin snaps back, attempting to walk past the man, but not making it very far when he grabs onto her arm._

_"Not so fast, little lady. I admit that your friend should not have been shot. He killed my brother. Therefore death is too good for him. He deserves to know what it feels like to lose someone he loves. From what I hear, that used to be you."_

_"Not anymore. Jason doesn't love me. Killing me wouldn't matter to him. Please don't hurt me," she begs him, tears filling her eyes._

_"You expect me to let him get away with killing my brother? I will have my revenge. And if killing you doesn't hurt him, then I'll keep on killing until I get to someone that will."_

_"Please. Don't do this. The only person Jason loves is lying in that bed in there," she says, pointing into Sam's room. "She is Jason's life. Taking her away from him will destroy him. She's been sedated. She won't give you any trouble."_

_The man looks into the room and then back at Robin, trying to decide what her angle is. With sudden clarity, it hits him and he gives her a smarmy grin at what he realizes._

_"He's dumped you and found love somewhere else. So you figure if you can get rid of the new girl, you can swoop back in and help him pick up the pieces of his broken heart."_

_"That's not why I'm doing this," she claims. "I just don't want a lot of innocent people to get hurt."_

_"Sure," Benton laughs, not believing a word from Robin's mouth. "But I'll ignore your little plans for Jason so long as I get my revenge. I'll let you live and take this woman instead."_

_"You can't kill her, though. You better make sure he thinks she's dead or else he'll never stop looking for her. But you can't kill her because she's pregnant with his child. After it's born, I want the baby."_

_"Lady, you are twisted," he laughs again. "It sounds like I'm doing all your dirty work. What will I get in return?"_

_"The revenge you're seeking," she reminds him. "You'll take away the person he loves more than anything. And his child. You can't do much more to a man than that."_

_"And you'll be giving him the child back after it's born, hoping he'll overlook the fact that he doesn't love you and help you raise the child. His own child. And he'll never know. That is the ultimate revenge."_

_"So we have a deal?"_

_The man nods, takes out his cell phone and starts to dial a number. He pauses and looks at Robin, a serious look in his eyes._

_"I'll contact you when the child is born. You double cross me, though, and you're dead."_

_"Trust me, if Jason finds out about this, you won't get the chance to kill me."_

--

Jason lets out a muttered curse with each step he takes towards Sam's room. The pain in his chest explodes with every breath he takes, but he knows he can't stop. He has to get to Sam. A loud thud down the hall catches his attention and makes his heart stop when he realizes it's coming from Sam's room.

He manages to keep himself from calling out her name, hoping to be able to sneak up on whoever might be in there. As he gets closer, he hears muffled sounds from inside.

"You can't hide forever. Come out, come out, wherever you are," the voice taunts.

Jason peeks inside and see a tall man searching the room, gun in hand. He curses again when he realizes he's unarmed and won't be of much help to Sam. The only thing he can do is cause a distraction, put himself in the line of fire and hope she can get away. He takes a deep breath to gather up all his strength and kicks the door open.

"Morgan," the man growls when he spins around to face him. He lifts the gun, seemingly forgetting about searching for Sam. "I came for your pretty little girlfriend, but since you're here, there's no use in wasting my bullets."

"Leave her alone. She did nothing to you. If I'm what you want, then come and get me."

"You don't know what I want. I want to avenge my brother's death. Don't tell me she had nothing to do with it. I saw her on the video surveillance taken at my brother's house."

Jason almost shouts for joy when he sees Sam from the corner of his eyes. She's safe. He just has to make sure she stay that way.

"Whatever you have planned, you can't do it here," Jason says, trying to lure the man from Sam's room. "If you try to shoot me, security will be here before you get get out of the hospital."

"You're right. Up to the roof," Benton Walsh says, gesturing with his gun for Jason to turn around and walk out the door.

But before they can take a step, Sam slams a metal object into Benton's head, making him fall to the floor with thud.

"Your IV pole? Nice, Baby," Jason grins, unable to hid the pride in his voice. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she pants, wincing and grabbing onto her stomach before collapsing to the floor. "Okay, maybe I'm not so fine."

"It's okay," he says, kneeling down next to her and gathering her in his arms. He has to ignore his own pain to do so, but he can't resist touching her. "You're going to be fine. You and the baby."

"Baby?"

"The doctors didn't tell you?" he asks her, a shocked look on his face. "Sam, you're pregnant."

"No, I just woke up," she gasps, tears filling her eyes. "I heard this guy outside my room making plans to grab me and knew I had to fight him off somehow. I'm just glad you showed up when you did. But a baby? We're having a baby?"

Jason looks down at her with a smile and wipes the tears from her face. Despite the ache in his chest, he leans down and presses a quick kiss to her lips.

"Ow," he moans, sitting up from the uncomfortable position.

"We really are a pair, aren't we," she giggles, making him laugh too.

"We might be stuck down here until someone comes to check on us."

"No, that would be too embarrassing. Can you really not get up?"

He struggles, but manages to make it to his feet. She does the same and gingerly shuffles over to her bed, collapsing on it when she reaches the edge.

"I need to get your doctor in here," Jason grunts, holding onto his own wound. "We need to make sure you and the baby are okay. And we need to get this guy out of here."

He steps over their assailant and kicks the gun out of reach, knowing he'll never be able to bend down to get it. That effort itself took whatever strength he had left. He's on the verge of collapsing when Sam calls him back.

"Jason get over here. I'll use the call button to signal for the nurse. You're too weak to make it down the hall."

"You're right," he nods, agreeing with her.

Just as he reaches the bed, the door to Sam's room opens and he assumes it's just the nurse. But he hears his name being called and as he turns around, all he sees is a blurred body rushing towards him.

He can't really tell the order of how things happened because it seemed to happen all at once. But there was a scream, a gunshot, and then more pain in his chest as he hits the floor.

"Jason?" Sam screams from the bed. "Jason, answer me."

He tries to tell her he's okay, but the intense pain is more than he can bear. The sounds of shuffled foot steps and muffled voices swirl around the vortex of his mind until he finally loses the battle with the darkness.

--

"That's it, Baby, open your eyes."

Jason follows the sound of Sam's voice and slowly blinks his eyes, squinting at the bright sun that greets him.

"It's morning," he growls sleepily, his voice raspy from disuse.

"The third morning, actually. You've been out for awhile," she tells him.

He looks at her and sees that she's wearing her clothes again and realizes she's been released.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she smiles, stroking her fingers through his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Langford Walsh's brother, Benton, tried to take me from the hospital, I guess as some sort of revenge for you making his brother disappear. But I heard his plans and was able to hide from him before he came into my room. When you got there, I was able to knock him out. But he woke up and almost shot you."

"Almost?" he winces. "It feels like he hit me."

"No, you just opened up your wound pretty badly when you fell. Jason, Robin pushed you out of the way of the bullet. She saved your life. The cops showed up eventually, but it would have been too late if it weren't for her."

"Sam, what aren't you telling me?" he asks when he notices the distressed look on her face.

"It's pretty bad," she finally tells him, unable to look him in the eye. "They don't know if she's going to make it."

"She took the bullet meant for me?"

After a long silence, he takes her hand and kisses the back of it.

"Are you sure you're okay? You and the baby?"

"We're fine," she assures him. "Do you want to go see Robin? They don't know how much time she has left. She's listed as critical."

"I probably should. You know, at least thank her for saving me. Say good-bye if . . . Can you help me?"

"Of course," she says, wiping a tear from her face.

He's a lot stronger than he had been the last few times he tried to get out of bed, so he's able to walk to Robin's room with help from Sam. She helps him sit in a chair next to Robin and then leaves them alone.

She goes out into the hall and runs into Brenda.

"Even after what happened, Jason still wanted to see her?" Brenda asks, the amazement evident in her voice. "Wow, that's what I call love."

"You're unbelievable," Sam sighs, shaking her head. "Jason and I are together. If either you or Robin had accepted that, none of us would be in the situation we're in right now."

"I'm just saying, it seems that Jason has finally learned to forgive if he can . . . "

"No, Jason doesn't know. I didn't tell him. I figured that him knowing about Robin's betrayal and her part in Benton's plan to take me, hold me hostage, and take my child would taint the good memories he has of her. And at this point, that's all that really matters. So because of imy/i love for him, I didn't want to tarnish her image in his eyes."

"Sam, she didn't mean to . . . "

"She didn't mean to what? She didn't mean to hand me over to that monster and let him do whatever he wanted with me, so long as she got the baby and Jason in the end? Tell me, Brenda, what idid/i she mean to do?"

"She was blinded by love for Jason, Sam. And she wanted to save her own life."

"And I was expendable?"

Brenda just shrugs, unable to say anything else on the matter.

"It's decent of you to let him remember her in a good way, Sam."

They sit in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Jason leaves the room, the grief on his face evident and very nearly breaking her heart, despite her current feelings for Robin.

"I'm so sorry, Baby," she whispers as her arms go around him. "I know how much she meant to you."

"Is she gone?" Brenda asks, tears streaming down her face.

"No," Jason says, shaking his head. He looks at Brenda with cold, hard eyes, his teeth gritting in anger. "She woke up."

"She told you, didn't she?" Sam asks.

"You knew? Of course you knew. You said you overheard them planning the whole thing. You just left out the part about Robin." He sighs, and drops his head to her shoulder. "I am so sorry, Sam. I can't believe she did that. And I can't believe you still tried to protect her after what she did."

"Don't Jason. I'm fine. It all worked out. We're together. And we're having a baby. We have everything."

"And Robin has nothing. Nothing but my hatred."

"Jason, don't say that," Brenda begs. "Please. This is Robin we're talking about."

"And for that reason alone, she's still alive. Because she meant something to me in the past, I didn't kill her. But she'll have to live the rest of her life, no matter how long or short that is, knowing that I want her dead. She is nothing to me. Nothing at all."

With that, he turns, takes Sam's hand, and walks away, not bothering to look back. He never realized before how much that part of his life still affected him. But now that the chapter is finally closed, he can move into the future with the only woman who's ever brought him true happiness. Whether they're partners in life, or partners in crime, they're partners forever. And that's more than he could have ever dreamed he would have. It's more than he deserves, but that just makes him appreciate it all the more.

To be concluded . . .


	9. Chapter 9

PARTNERS IN CRIME  
Epilogue

* * *

She paces nervously in front of the door before finally knocking, waiting on someone inside to let her in. She had something to say that really couldn't be said over the phone.

After a few long moments, the door finally opens to reveal a largely pregnant Sam leaning against the door.

"Did you forget your key again, Jase . . . " Sam pauses, her eyes opening wide when she sees who's there. "Brenda. What a surprise."

"Can I come in?" she asks, noting the hesitation on the woman's face before she finally opens the door wider to let her in.

"What's this about?"

"Is Jason here?"

"Brenda, this might not be the best time," Sam warns her.

"Please. It's important. And after today, I doubt I'll be bothering either of you again."

Sam lets out a sigh, rubbing her huge belly and walking to the stairs.

"Jason," she calls. "You have a visitor."

Sam turns and gives Brenda a nervous smile, making her way back the couch and lowering her bulky form down on it. It reminds Brenda of the way Sam looked when she first met the woman, that undercover assignment all those months ago that started this whole thing. Hopefully what Brenda has to say will end it, once and for all.

Jason comes running breathlessly down the stairs, overnight bag in hand, not noticing anything but Sam.

"Are you okay? Is it the baby?" he asks, his voice panicked. "Is it time?"

"No, I haven't gone into labor, Silly," she laughs. "I said you have a visitor."

She points to Brenda standing right next to him and laughs at him again when he realizes how oblivious he was. He sits the bag down on the floor and turns to the woman, not exactly pleased to see her.

"Brenda. This is a surprise."

"I know. It's been awhile. But I needed to come see you."

"If this is about Robin, then I don't . . ."

"You'll want to hear this," Brenda interrupts him. "Robin's dead."

"What?" Sam gasps, raising one hand to her mouth, and letting the other one rest on her stomach. "What happened? I thought she had recovered from the gunshot wound."

"She never truly recovered," Brenda shrugs. "She might have been alive physically these past few months, but her spirit died the minute Jason declared his hate for her. She couldn't live with the guilt anymore so she took half a bottle of sleeping pills with half a bottle of wine. She had been dead two days before anyone found her."

"And I'm supposed to feel badly about that? She almost got my wife killed."

"She loved you, Jason. She always loved you. And to be fair, Sam was just your girlfriend at the time," Brenda points out.

"Get out of my house," Jason sighs, shaking his head at the audacity of the woman standing in his living room.

"Jason, I . . . "

"Good-bye, Brenda."

She starts to say something else before changing her mind and walking to the door. Jason doesn't even bother escorting her, letting her get out on her own. After she's gone, he and Sam sit in a stunned silence for a few moments.

"I guess that means we won't be going to the funeral," Sam says with a sigh.

He looks over at her and can't hide the grin from his face.

"Jason, it's not funny. A woman is dead. And I was serious."

He cracks up then, unable to stop himself from laughing. Pretty soon, she joins him, not knowing what she's laughing at.

"I'm sorry," he says after calming down. "You're right. It isn't funny. It's far from funny, in fact. You could have been killed because of her."

"I know, Jason. But I wasn't. You saved me," she says, finding his lips with her own and kissing him. "You saved us."

He smiles and places his hand on top of her stomach, their child giving him a swift kick. They sit together just enjoying the sensation of the baby trying to communicate with them.

"Is it bad that I don't care that she's gone?" Jason says, breaking the silence.

"I think she died to you all those months ago, Jason. This woman who just killed herself wasn't the Robin you knew and loved. I can understand why you can't mourn her."

He gives her a grateful look and a smile, placing a kiss first on her belly and then on her lips.

"I love you, Sam," he says sweetly. "More than I ever thought possible."

"I love you, too," she smiles back, before attempting to lift herself from the couch. "And now I'm going to bed."

"I'll be right behind you," he assures her.

"Take your time," she says, running her hand through his hair. "We have forever. I'm not going anywhere."

He grabs her hand as she walks away, staring right into her eyes when she turns back to him. Whatever she sees makes her smile.

"I'm not going anywhere, either," he promises. "Not without you."

Maybe he should have taken a moment alone to make peace with the loss of Robin. Maybe he should care that she's gone. But he doesn't. She used to be the love of his life, but she's not anymore. He has a new life. With a new love. And he doesn't want to keep her waiting.

As they disappear together up the stairs, the invisible, airy spectre cries the first of her many silent tears. In life she tried to steal Jason and Sam's love for herself. But in death, she shall be bound for all eternity to it, forced to witness the strength of their love, forced to watch it grow and flourish. And helpless to do anything about it. All she can do is watch them live and love and be happy.

THE END!!


End file.
